No Way

Part 1

Happy New Year! This idea has been chasing me during the holidays, so I had to do this! Have fun! 

*

There was no other artist in the world who had gotten through to you how Lady Gaga had. She had something about her that was unique and powerful, enough to pull you from the darkest places that life liked to take you to sometimes. Music had always been a welcome escape and it seemed to have a way of calming your restless mind, so her music and the connections you made while being a fan were everything to you.

You had seen Gaga perform before, but this was the first time you were going to meet her and get a chance to talk to her. It wasn't something you could regularly afford and you had always had to resort to tickets that had you waiting in different lines, much longer ones than the one you were standing in now. Until you had shrugged off some doubts and entered in one of the many radio contests that were creating buzz for her Vegas residency. 

For once, you had ended up being lucky and you couldn't believe it until the tickets to the show and the Meet & Greet had arrived and you had held them in your own two hands.

The day has been so long and exciting that you would usually be exhausted from so much going on. You had tried to spot Gaga during the backstage tour already and so had everyone else in the little group of fans you were a part of, but all you had met were a few of her dancers. They had taken a few minutes to talk with you and answered questions and then disappeared again, leaving everyone searching for Gaga's familiar face. 

Everyone was running high on adrenaline from the concert and you were exchanging photos, stories and sometimes phone numbers with the other fans around you. As the minutes ticked by, more and more people were gathering, assistants, security, and the orderly line of fans behind you grew longer and longer.

This was another factor in coming to this concert, too. There were bound to be more people like you, ones with similar attitudes and outlooks towards life and maybe, maybe there was a chance that the person you have been hoping to meet would be among them. It seemed like a possibility. You ran your hand over the warm back of your neck, over the area where soulmarks were supposed to appear. Nothing had happened again, not during the backstage tour or the concert itself.

The first time you had learned what soulmarks were you had been in elementary school and it had been one of those awkward topics that a lot of the kids had giggled at. The teacher had patiently explained the marks that would appear if you came in touch with your soulmate, if you met the person that you would have that unique, rare connection with that not everyone would be able to make in their lives.

You hadn't seen many soulmarks on family members before. It was possible for people to never meet that one person, their person, but that didn't mean they would stay alone. Some didn't want to know, either. 

Someone had asked the teacher how old they would be if they met their soulmate and your teacher had shrugged. It could be any age, although those who looked would often find them young. People could and many would choose to ignore it. 

But you were hoping it would happen one day.

Maybe something had happened but you hadn't felt it? The sensation didn't have to be strong, it could have been only a tickle. There was supposed to be an ache that followed when it appeared, but that could be the ache you always felt when you were lost and overwhelmed. It could be only a slight bloom at first, one that could have passed off as a mere speck on your skin that didn't cause much fuss. 

You carefully tapped Ryan on the shoulder, the guy in line in front of you, who you had already had a few friendly chats with before. He nervously turned around, the letter to Gaga in his hand wrinkled from how many times he had unfolded and folded it again.

"Could you check if anything is there?" You asked him and turned around, sweeping your hair to the side so he could take a look.

"Nothing." Ryan said and looked at your disappointed expression with sympathy. "Were you hoping it would be someone from here?"

You nodded. Around anyone else, you would be embarrassed, but this felt like a safe space to admit it. It was often an awkward thing to mention and you never knew if strangers even wanted to know if they had a soulmark at all, so the safest way to handle it was to ignore it in public.

"I'm sorry." He said and was interrupted by one of Gaga's assistants who came walking along the line of fans waiting to meet her.

She greeted everyone politely. "If there is anything you would like Gaga to have, please hand it to me and I'll put it in her dressing room."

Ryan jumped and held his letter out to her, as nobody was allowed to bring any items inside with them. You had brought your own gift to her, a Squishmallow plushie you thought she might like and a letter you had written to her that you were praying wouldn't sound too stupid.

The assistant took your presents with a friendly smile and then you spotted Gaga's bodyguard through the open door. Peter stood with his hands folded in front of him, watching someone at the other end of the room with rapt attention. Anxiety washed through you and you realized just how close you finally were to meeting her, because she had to be on the other side of that door.